May 24, 2010

The darkening scene

The international news gets darker and
darker. Like anyone with a decent knowledge of history, I can’t
decide what year of the 1930s we’re emulating – or who is playing
what role. Is North Korea Nazi Germany or does that part fall
to Iran? Are the Israelis the Czechs or the Poles?

North Korea has torpedoed a South Korea
warship. What price will they pay for this act of war?
The administration would prefer to ignore it, but in Asia, the
concept of honor – “face” – still has meaning. South
Korea cannot afford to let this affront stand.

The Euro is disintegrating and the
entire economy of Europe trembles. The statesmen in London,
Paris and Berlin are powerless as political instability makes their
own hold on power tenuous at best. Who can rise to leadership
in these circumstances? England has an awkward coalition,
Germany’s leader is now reviled by her own party and France
is…France.

Despite having held the spigot wide
open for more than a year, despite billions of dollars pumped into
the economy, deflation is beginning to rear its ugly head here in the
U.S.

Meanwhile, Miss America is a Muslim
from Dearborn. I didn’t watch the pageant (I never do) so I
don’t care much for the commentary one way or the other.
Donald Trump clearly wants people to pay attention and if this is
what it takes to boost ratings, good for him.

Last night Sithkitten proposed the
Question of the Day: If she’s murdered for insulting Islam,
will anyone care?

I’d say no, not really. The
usual suspects will note that she was awfully provocative, and anyway
beauty pageants are awful and should be banned outright. I
expect NOW will make some sort of “Of course we deplore violence
against women BUT…” statement, thus completing the final act of
feminism’s self-betrayal.

Those whose eyes are already open, on
the other hand, will simply nod in grim acknowledgement and buy more
bullets. They are out there – I even heard an advertisement
for them on WJR in Detroit.

Still, it’s a dispiriting way to
start the week.

I try to be an optimist, but the
administration is making it harder every day…